Pantry Make-Over
Saturday, Hubby had to work. He only has to work a Saturday once every year or two. After work, he went to a race with a friend so he was gone for about 17 hours total!
While the cat is away, the mice will play.
As I was cleaning up breakfast, I decided to clean out my pantry.
This house is really, really old and it needs lots of love. We are fixing it up, little by little. We have decided that the kitchen will be the last room we remodel. Not only will it be the most expensive room we fix but, our driveway pulls up to the back door, which comes into the kitchen. No one EVER uses our front door. Ever. We don’t want to spend a ton of money fixing up the kitchen only to have contractors tromping through it, fixing other parts of the house.
But, I figured fixing up the pantry would be an easy and inexpensive way to make my kitchen feel better – to me, anyway!
My pantry is ridiculously small (but, after 5+ years without one, I’m so glad to have it) and dark. Oh, and not all of the shelves are level.
It has become quite the disorganized mess!
Messy shelves.
Junk piled up in the floor.
I started by having Smarty move everything out of the pantry.
Smarty said we have too much stuff.
Then, I took out the shelves, washed down the walls, and vacuumed the floor.
Yes, my kitchen has carpet. Trust me, it wasn't my doing. It makes me crazy!
I was content to just clean it but I remembered the Valspar paint sample I had gotten in the mail months ago. I originally requested it for the kitchen but, when it came, I decided it was too “bright” and I didn’t even attempt it. It’s been sitting in the basement ever since. I decided that it might be a good way to brighten the look of the pantry.
Hubby really likes neutral colors. If he had been here, I would never have attempted to paint the inside of my pantry. He likely would’ve forbidden me to. But, he was at work ;o)
I didn’t want to just paint it, though. I have been seeing all these awesome stencil paint jobs all over the web. After seeing Shelley’s pantry at House of Smith’s, I was inspired to stencil it.
Source
I settled on this stencil from Jones Design Company.
Now, I may or may not be an impatient girl who does things on a whim and just makes them work instead of planning ahead so I may or may not have grabbed the back off of a notebook, traced my stencil, taped over it with packing tape to protect the cardboard, and gone to town. That may or may not have been the longest sentence ever.
So I set to work stenciling the pantry.
At this point, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going but Smarty encouraged me not to stop.
I painted and painted and painted. Blech!
Every now and again, I would take a short break and work on the shelves. Oh, they were so nasty! They were like that when we moved in and I kept meaning to fix them. I’m embarrassed to show you just how nasty they were. But that’s not going to stop me!
Shelves Before
I tried scrubbing them but they honestly wouldn’t come clean. So I decided to paint them.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any white paint in the basement and I didn’t want to spend any money on this little project so I opted for Hubby’s can of white spray primer. Shhh! Don’t tell.
Shelves After
I finally got the stencil over the entire back wall. I decided to paint the other walls solid green.
Pay no attention to the crummy construction of my pantry, please.
Then I put the freshly painted…er primered…shelves in. Some of my shelves were actually two slats pushed together….go figure! So, I had the option to make one shelf more shallow by using one slat and then making another shelf deeper by adding the extra slat.
I went through all the stuff from the pantry as I put things back in. I wanted it to be better organized. I put all of my spices and seasonings on the shallow shelf. Canned foods are grouped on the shelf below it. Baking supplies are on the shelf above the spices.
I “shopped the house” for storage ideas.
I used some of my mason jars for things that were in bags or other containers.
I put my flour in this huge jar. I plan to buy more for my other kinds of flour and oats.
I used this little planter for my drink mixes.
I put my foil, plastic wrap, and the like on the top shelf. The kids kept stepping on them when they were in the floor and they smooshed the boxes.
I really cleaned out the junk from the bottom of the pantry. The file box had to stay because that’s where we organize our bills and other important papers. It works for us where it is. Unfortunately, I had started piling anything remotely important on top of the file box and it had gotten out of hand. Hopefully I’ll be able to control myself now 
File box cleaned off and plastic utensils organized in a basket.
All-in-all, I’m happy with it. Now that everything is back on the shelves, you can’t really see the stencil work on the wall though. I was nervous about Hubby seeing it when he got home but, he liked it! He said he likes that I did the stencil because “it’s things like that that give it a special touch.” I think he was just kissing my butt because he went to the race on our anniversary weekend but, whatever.
My pantry does not look anywhere near as gorgeous as Shelley’s but, it works for me right now. One day, when we finally get around to remodeling the kitchen, I hope to make the pantry just a smidge bigger with level shelves (what, you didn’t notice how uneven they are?) and I’ll paint the walls a different color and maybe even do another stencil.
Until then, my free pantry make-over makes me happy
Eleven Years Ago Today…
….my father and my son escorted me down the aisle to the man who could make my heart skip a beat with just one look (and still can).
**I originally posted this August 26, 2008 but life is kicking my butt this week and, since it’s my anniversary, I thought I would share it again….with pictures this time!**
My dad and I stood in the foyer of the church, waiting for the doors to swing open and the music to play so I could make my grand entrance. Dad held Big Al in one arm, with my arm linked in the other. He kept nervously repeating to himself “Her son, her mother, and I. Her son, her mother, and I. Her son, her mother, and I.” He was so afraid he would mess up. Bless his heart.
I, on the other hand, was not nervous in the least. I had not been nervous all day long. This day had gone just as planned. I was so relaxed. I knew that I was destined to spend the rest of my life with Hubby. I had known it since our first date. As a matter of fact, when I got home from our first date, I called my best friend and told her that he was the one I would spend the rest of my life with. And now, here I was ready to walk down the aisle to vow my undying love for him in front of God and family.
I’ll never forget the look on Hubby’s face when those doors opened. Our eyes met, and my heart skipped a beat. He had the biggest smile on his face. To be quite honest, with the exception of the birth of our children, I don’t think he’s ever smiled a smile so big since then.
We’ve had our share of ups and downs since August 26, 2000. We’ve had some really trying times. We’ve had some wonderfully happy times. No matter what, though, he is still the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Honestly, I love him more now than the day we were married.
We’re still striving towards Happily Ever After
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
I promise I haven’t forgotten about Proverbs 31. But, I have had a lot of requests from facebook friends and family for some of my recipes so I thought I’d share a few of them.
I love fall. I mean really love it. Maybe it’s because of my love for all things pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins….the list goes on! I love the smell. I love the taste. I love the color.
It is only August but I am so impatient for fall to get here! I love the cool, crisp feeling in the air. This morning, that was the feeling I had when I woke up. Hubby had opened up some of the windows and the air coming in was cool and crisp. Aahhh. It felt like the perfect time to make pumpkin muffins. My house smelled like fall once these muffins came out of the oven. Yum!
Here’s the recipe I use:
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
Muffins:
1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 heaping t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 T. oil
1 c. apple, peeled and diced
**For whatever reason, my kids don’t like the apple pieces in theirs so I just shred my apple using a cheese grater and they like it. Weirdos.
Streusel Topping:
1 (heaping) T. flour
3 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 T. butter, room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350.
In a bowl, whisk together all of the dry muffin ingredients. Stir in the remaining ingredients until they are just combined. Batter will be quite thick.
Spray a 12 muffin pan with cooking spray. Spoon batter into the muffin tins to about 3/4 full.
To prepare the topping, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Add the butter, mixing until crumbly. Sprinkle liberally over the batter. Don’t be afraid to pile it on!
Bake for 18-20 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool, if you can wait that long.
Enjoy!
My kids prefer theirs with a cold glass of milk. I prefer mine with a hot cup of tea.
Homemade Sesame Seed Buns
I’m always on the lookout for great recipes. When I find one, I save it to my computer so I can refer back to it at any time. If I end up loving the recipe, I’ll print it to keep in my binder in my kitchen.
This is one of those recipes.
I’ve made these buns several times and I love them! They are so simple to make, and they add a nice touch to an ordinary burger (or barbecue).
Homemade Sesame Seed Buns
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoon (1 packet) yeast
1 cup warm milk
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
Sesame seeds
In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast packet over top and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Add warm milk, vegetable oil, salt and 3 cups of the flour. Mix with dough hook until combined.
Add flour, one large spoonful at a time, until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl. Knead 5-7 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. I let my dough hook do this for me.
Place dough in oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
Turn dough out onto lightly oiled surface. I spray my counter with a little cooking spray.
Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. A kitchen scale would help with this but I just eyeball it.
Shape each dough piece into a ball and flatten slightly.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place buns on baking sheet, with edges barely touching.
Cover with a light towel and allow to rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
Make an egg wash by beating the egg with one tablespoon of water. Very gently brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes, until golden.
Remove buns to wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
**Want to make hot dog buns instead? Simply shape dough pieces into a cylinder approximately 4 1/2 inches long and flatten slightly. Continue on with the recipe. It’s that easy! These are especially good with grilled bratwurst.
Proverbs 31:19-20
I’ve kinda been putting this post off for a few days. Not because I don’t want to write it or that I don’t know what to write, but because there’s so much to say about these two verses.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
While I believe that all of the verses I am sharing from Proverbs 31 are important, I feel very passionate about these two verses in particular.
I’ve already told you that she works with eager hands. You know that she works hard to meet her family’s needs. She makes sure they have good food to eat.
You also know that she is frugal.
She may be frugal, but she isn’t stingy. There is a difference between being stingy and being frugal. Being frugal is to be economical. Being stingy is simply being ungenerous. Just because you are trying to save money doesn’t mean you can’t give a little to help someone else.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
See, she works hard to provide for her family but she also puts in extra effort to help others. She holds the distaff and grasps the spindle. She makes things. Of course, as I’ve already told you, she makes things for her family. But, verse 20 shows us that she also makes things for others. Those who are in need.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
Sometimes we get so caught up in doing good things for our families and friends, that we don’t take the time to do good things for those who really need us to.
Like I said, I’ve put this post off for a little bit. It’s because there are just so many people in our world who honestly need help right now that I know I just can’t list them all. It can be a little overwhelming at times.
Have you ever really thought about how many people are going hungry? Last year, that number was 925 million. Yes, million.
My heart aches at this thought.
As a mother, I cannot fathom having to watch my child go hungry, knowing there is nothing more I can do. Hunger and hunger-related illnesses are responsible for the deaths of approximately 5 million children each year. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Five million children. Five million. But for the grace of God, that could be my child. But for the grace of God, I could be living in poverty, watching my children, my family, my friends starve.
Do I believe that God has put me here, where I am now, in a free country with a roof over my head and a dependable job for my husband and all of my needs met so I can turn my head or turn off the television when I see something I don’t like to have to face – like someone in need? NOT FOR ONE SECOND!
Believe me, He hasn’t put you where you are now so that you can turn your head either.
You may say, “The problem is too big. What difference can I make?”
Have you heard the story of the little boy and the starfish? While you may not be able to save 925 million people from being hungry, if you can help just ONE, you will have made an enormous difference to that person.
There are many organizations out there who assist people in need. One of my favorites is World Vision.
A couple of years ago, while I was the youth leader at my church in Tennessee, I participated in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. It is a really fun event for youth (and adults too!) that helps raise funds and awareness for hungry people, specifically children, all over the world. We held a lock-in at our church and fasted for 30 hours while completing service projects, reading devotions, praying, and playing games. It was an amazing weekend of fellowship. It was very eye-opening and heartbreaking.
The day after our fast, we held “Famine Sunday” at our church. We had someone volunteer to speak to our congregation about the work of World Vision and child sponsorship. He was a musician so he also provided musical entertainment for our service.
This is Juan. Our family became his sponsors during that Famine Sunday service. He is only a few months younger than Smarty and he and his family live in Bolivia. For $30 a month, we can help make sure that Juan gets to attend school and many of his family’s needs are being met. We write him letters and send him little packages with stickers and notepads (it has to fit in a 6×9 envelope). He and his family members write to us from time to time. We get a new photo of him each year. This photo is the most recent one.
Perhaps you would like to sponsor a child. Or maybe even a family. Please click here to learn more about their child sponsorship program and how you can make a difference in the life of a child.
Maybe you can’t or don’t want to commit to a monthly sponsorship pledge. Consider giving gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalog instead.
Let’s face it, most of our friends and family have everything they need and probably wish you’d quit buying them trinkets and “stuff” just for the sake of giving them a gift for their birthday or for Christmas. Instead of giving them some material thing that they don’t need (and maybe don’t even want), give a gift to someone in need in their honor.
Know someone who is having a baby? Why not give a New Mother and Baby Kit in her honor? For $77, you provide a bassinet, diapers, a blanket, a container for clean water, soap, and infant care training for the mother.
Mother’s Day? Mom’s birthday? There are lots of gifts that benefit mothers. There are gifts for dads and teachers and everybody else!
Maybe you don’t need to buy a gift in honor of someone. Maybe you are just concerned about the poor folks in the Horn of Africa. There are so many organizations right now trying to help out! World Vision, UNICEF, World Relief, and Food For The Hungry are just a few.
Maybe you are more concerned about the people right outside your own front door. In your community. In your state. In your country. That’s fine! Find a local charity to help out. Believe me, there are people everywhere who need help – even in your own neighborhood.
If there isn’t a local charity that reaches the people that you want to reach, consider starting your own!
This summer, several churches in my community wanted to feed children in some of the more “underprivileged” neighborhoods around here. Many of the children here receive free or reduced price lunches at school. Chances are, most of those kids don’t have much to eat at home – especially during the summer months. So, a group of people started meeting together to discuss how to go about feeding the kids. They got donations from some people and the Brown Bag Ministry was born! We started out small, just feeding the kids in one neighborhood. We gave out 50-70 lunches a day. By the end of summer, we were going to six neighborhoods and handing out nearly 800 lunches a week! We gave out over 5,000 lunches this summer! The kids and the parents were so appreciative and it was a huge blessing to everyone involved.
My point is this: We can’t just sit on our hands, waiting for someone else to make a move. We are all called to open our arms to the poor and extend our hand to the needy.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:4
First Day of School
Where has time gone? It seems like just yesterday, we were enjoying sweet summertime. Oh wait. That was yesterday. Today is the first day of school!
Big Al and Smarty headed back to public school today.
After two years, we’re finally back in a good school district. There’s no reason for me to keep them at home. Homeschooling was simply a solution to living in such a horrible school district.
It is time. We are all ready. They were driving me crazy.
I got them enrolled in middle school in June….before school was ever out here. What? I said we were ready.
All summer we’ve looked forward to today. I may or may not have counted down how many days until they went to school. They were driving me crazy. We bought new clothes and a bazillion dollars in school supplies.
I’ve decided that we are all going to be really organized this year.
Last night, both boys showered and laid out their clothes for today. They were in bed and sound asleep by 9:30! Since we aren’t eating cold cereal anymore, I measured my dry ingredients for Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake so everything would be ready to go for a yummy breakfast. I was in bed and asleep by 10:15!
Smarty was up at 5:45 this morning. That set the dog to barking because, Lord forbid one of the boys get up and not let him out of his crate. I got up and walked the dog while Smarty showered…again. For whatever reason.
I got the breakfast cake in the oven, packed Hubby’s lunch and poured him a cup of coffee for the road. Big Al got up and showered….again. For whatever reason. Apparently they wanted to make sure they were really clean for their first day of school.
The breakfast cake came out of the oven and I topped it with a simple glaze of confectioners sugar, juice from the lemon I zested for the cake, and a smidge of milk. It wasn’t part of the recipe but I highly recommend it. It added just the right touch and probably got the boys all jacked up on a sugar high for their first day.
Everybody loved the Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake and it will definitely go into our regular breakfast rotation.
The boys were completely ready to go before 7:30 so we headed outside to take a few “first day of school” pics. They are such sweet boys and they were kind enough to humor me with this….
Smarty and Big Al on Big Al’s first day of kindergarten. I remember Smarty was so excited for Big Al. He wanted to be just like his big brother, though, so he wore his backpack too.
Smarty and Big Al on their first day of middle school. They are so excited. Smarty is a fifth grader and Big Al a seventh grader. So hard to believe.
After I took my shower and got Bean up, we headed out for school. The original plan was to drop them off at our church, which is next door to the school and let them walk to school on the sidewalk but I decided that, today, I would drop them off at the school door. However, after sitting in some unreal school traffic (with 3 police officers directing traffic just on Main Street) before I ever got to the school, I decided to go back to the original plan.
What the boys don’t know is that after they got a little way up the sidewalk, I followed after them to make sure the police officer who serves as the crossing guard saw them and that they got to the school safely. They were just walking along and chatting and had no clue that I was watching them. They felt so big!
On my way back to the van, my eyes may or may not have filled with tears. My babies are growing up! I’ve had those little boogers home with me for two years – 24/7/365! Although I know it’s best for all of us, sending them back to school was harder than I thought it would be. I know they are going to do great, though.
Bean has “styled” my hair and made me put on dress shoes and we are going to go dance in the living room while the boys are gone.
Enjoy your day!
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
This has to be the easiest recipe ever. It’s the one I go to when I know I’m not going to have time to fool with supper at 5:00. I can stick it in the slow cooker and be done with it until suppertime. Not only is it easy for me, but ALL THREE of my children like it! Win-Win!
All you need is three cans of red enchilada sauce, a packet of taco seasoning, and some chicken breasts. I use several chicken breasts so that we can eat leftovers for a day or two!
Dump the sauce and the seasoning packet into the slow cooker.
Stir it with your left hand so you can take a picture with your right hand.
Place your chicken in the sauce mixture, making sure each breast is coated.
Put the lid on it and set it to low and go about your business for six to eight hours. Go visit your family, that’s what I did!
When you come home from visiting your family, it should look something like this:
*Please ignore the fact that my lens steamed up as I took the picture. I never claimed to be a photographer.
Take your chicken out, one piece at a time, and shred it. It should fall apart. I recommend using a large slotted spoon to get it out of the slow cooker. Or you could just use the scoop to your Fry Daddy, like me.
Stir shredded chicken back into sauce mixture.
Spoon chicken mixture onto flour tortillas. Top with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, onions, lettuce – whatever makes your heart happy!
That’s it! Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
3 cans red enchilada sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Flour tortillas
Toppings: cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, etc.
Mix enchilada sauce and taco seasoning in slow cooker. Place chicken in sauce mixture, making sure each breast is coated. Cook in slow cooker, on low, for six to eight hours. Remove chicken from sauce, shred, and stir back into sauce. Spoon chicken mixture onto flour tortillas. Top as you wish. Enjoy!
**Variation: Use 4 cans of sauce and, after chicken is shredded and stirred into sauce, add 1/2 cup of Minute Rice and allow to cook an additional 5 minutes before serving.
Proverbs 31:18
If you’re new here and would like to get caught up on all of my Proverbs 31 posts, you can go here to see them all.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
Do you remember that field she bought? And the vineyard she planted?
Her trading was profitable, right? She considered the field before she bought it. She made sure it was a good purchase. Then she planted a vineyard out of her earnings. She didn’t do this on a whim. She thought through it and she made sure that what she was about to do would be profitable for her family.
This verse tells me that she did a good job handling her family’s finances.
Her trading was profitable and her lamp did not go out at night. Bear in mind that her lamp required oil in order to provide light. She had to make sure there was plenty of oil for the lamps so her family wasn’t in the dark at night. In a sense, she paid the bills!
She saw to it that her family was well cared for. Their needs were being met. The bills were being paid. They didn’t have to worry about whether or not there was enough oil for the lamps because she saw that her trading was profitable.
She worked hard for her family. She made things with her hands and she worked vigorously. She likely either traded her wares for the things her family needed or she sold them and used the money to buy the things her family needed. Either way, she worked hard to provide for her family.
You know, if you read about my family you’ll see that I have described Hubby as “Hard-working husband and father. He works hard so I don’t have to.”
Um, yeah.
He works hard so I don’t have to.
Let me just tell you at this point that I usually have something in mind when I sit down to type out my Proverbs 31 posts. I read the verses and I pray over them, as I have been for quite some time now. I know what God is telling me. Or at least I think I do. When I sat down to type this post, I was going in the direction of “you have to pay your bills and be responsible for your family’s well-being”. But, God had another plan. He pointed me in the direction I’m headed now and He just stepped all over my toes! Ouch!
For the last 9 years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom. Hubby works in finance. He handles most of our money. He invests. He saves. He refuses to let me spend, spend, spend when we really need to save, save, save. He reigns me in when I start getting “spend happy”.
He’s a total tightwad. Heh.
I used to have a problem with that. I used to get upset when there was something I wanted and he wouldn’t let me buy it because we didn’t really have the money for it. But, over the years, I’ve come to appreciate it. There have been so many times that we were able to do something or buy something that we wouldn’t have had the money for if Hubby hadn’t made me save. He’s pretty awesome like that.
Hubby is a hard working husband and father. He currently drives over an hour each way to work, just so we can live in the community we desire. This makes for a very long day for him – two or more hours longer than it has to be! Add to that, the fact that he still does yard work or plays ball with the boys once he gets home and I know he’s exhausted.
So just because he works hard, that means I don’t have to?
Um, no!
For so long now, I’ve been telling myself that my job is never finished because my job is at home. I’ve felt a sense of entitlement. I’ve thought that since I have to take care of three kids every single day, I should get some kind of “free pass” when I don’t feel like doing something because I’m tired….or lazy.
I’m just as responsible as he is for our family. Yes, he may be the main bread winner but I still have to work hard to see that our family is taken care of too.
Does Hubby get a “free pass” when he’s tired and doesn’t feel like going to work? No. Does he get to sit around and goof off on the computer for a while until he feels like getting with the program? No. He has to get up and get ready for work and drive an hour to the office and work hard all day. Then he drives an hour home so he can eat supper, play with the kids, mow the yard, trim the shrubs, and/or do whatever else needs to be done! No free passes!
So, God has showed me (and maybe you too!) that even though I don’t always leave the house and drive to a “job”, I am still required to work hard. Just because my husband works hard each day does NOT mean I don’t have to.
I still need to work hard to ensure that my family is taken care of and that our lamp does not go out at night.
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
A few weeks ago, I was itching to make something fun for a pool party our church was having. I wanted something that screamed SUMMER! Chocolate brownies just would not do. What says “summer” better than pink lemonade?
I searched the internet and just could not find a recipe that suited me. So, I mixed a few recipes and made a few changes to get my own recipe!
Here ya go!
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
9 oz. (1 1/8 cup) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed – I used regular but pink lemonade would be better!
3 egg whites
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Cupcake liners
Cooking spray
For the icing:
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 packet Pink Lemonade flavored Koolaid (the unsweetened 25 cent packet)
Dash salt
2 Tablespoons milk (If you want a really tart cupcake, you can use lemon juice in place of the milk. Just be prepared to pucker!)
Make the cupcakes:
With an electric mixer, mix cake mix, lemonade concentrate, egg whites, and vegetable oil on low speed for 30 seconds and increase to medium speed for 90 seconds.
Spray cupcake liners with cooking spray and spoon batter into liners, filling about 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a wooden toothpick tests “done”. Let cool in pan 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack until fully cooled.
Make icing:
With an electric mixer, mix confectioners sugar, butter, lemonade mix, and salt until combined. It will be dry. Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time while mixing on low. Mix on medium high until light and fluffy.
Ice completely cooled cupcakes. I like to pop my icing into a pastry bag and pipe the icing on mine. So much easier than spreading the icing on each cupcake. I also like to sprinkle mine with pink decorating sugars.
Enjoy!
Proverbs 31:17
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
Do you work vigorously?
I’d like to say I do. But…honestly, there are days when I’m just not feeling it. I get up and I’m still sleepy. I get Hubby’s coffee cup and lunch ready to go and the second he’s out of the driveway, I snuggle back into my bed. Or I may check my email and play on the internet…..for an hour. Then, I fix the kids some breakfast and check in on Facebook. Then I may start a load of laundry and make the bed and then I check my email again. And then the weather. And then Facebook again. Anything to keep from doing what needs to be done.
Just keepin’ it real.
Not every day is like that, though. Some days I’m on top of things. I get the laundry done and get the house clean and still have time to do something awesome with my kids and bake some bread and cook a nice dinner. Yeah, those days I feel like SuperMom!
But, do I work vigorously? Ummm….
I know I can do better. I need to do better. I need to work vigorously. Every. Single. Day.
Oy. I really do struggle with this one. I’m working on it, though.
her arms are strong for her tasks.
Have you ever heard the phrase “If mom goes down, the whole ship sinks”?
Or something like that.
Anyway, my point is: as a wife and mother, I have a lot of people depending on me. Hubby depends on me to take care of the kids and the house so he can go to work every day and make a living for us. The kids depend on me to provide them with clean clothes and at least 3 meals a day. They depend on me for transportation. For comfort when they’re sick. To listen when they need to talk. The list goes on.
If I’m not here to take care of my family, who will?
That’s what the second part of this verse says to me. My arms have to be strong for my tasks.
I need to take care of myself. And so do you! As moms and wives, we tend to put ourselves last. We’re so busy taking care of everyone else that we don’t take care of ourselves – or at least not as well.
In the past 11 years, I’ve gained 75 pounds. Ugh. I can’t believe I just admitted that on the interwebs. Oh well, keepin’ it real I guess. In that time, I’ve exercised and dieted and lost a few pounds, but eventually I’ve gained it back. And then some.
Earlier this year, my dad was having some health problems. Long story short, he ended up going for a heart catheterization and found out that he needed a quadruple bypass. My dad is only 20 years older than me. He isn’t overweight and he works vigorously. How could his heart be in such bad shape? His diet isn’t that bad. He only eats sausage on the weekends ;o)
Every single cardiologist that came in to see Dad while I was there, told me it was my wake-up call. My grandfather died of a massive heart attack when I was two. My grandmother died of congestive heart failure when I was eighteen. My dad’s sister has had a slew of heart procedures and is *this close* to having to have bypass surgery too. It’s in my genes. (Thanks, Dad.)
But, I don’t want to have to go through what my dad has gone through in twenty years. I don’t want my kids to have to see me sick. Who knows, I may not have twenty years. They depend on me. Hubby depends on me. I need to make sure I’m here for them.
When Dad had his surgery, I decided to change the way I eat and lose some weight. I bought a workout video and a bunch of healthy foods. I was going to get healthy! I started out strong. I was eating really healthy stuff and working out with my video, despite my children snickering at me while I tried to keep up with the girl on the screen. I lost a little over 15 pounds! Then I went on vacation and stopped doing the videos and started eating lots of cupcakes and I’ve gained back all but about 10 pounds. Bleh.
So, in light of today’s post, I’ve decided to get back with the program. My goal is to lose 40-50 pounds. Maybe by telling you about it, I’ll be more likely to stick with it this time. I have to do this!
I started by walking two miles last night. My poor little wiener dog was worn out by the time I got him home! But, it felt good. Once school starts back, I plan to walk and exercise each morning after I drop the kids off. With them being at school, hopefully I won’t be so tempted to eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch or bake so many “sweet treats”.
I have to take care of myself, so I can take care of the people who depend on me.
What do you do to take care of yourself? How do you keep yourself motivated to work vigorously? I’d love to hear from you!
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